Typically, desktop computer systems have large display screens that allow users to search for data and navigate through files via a hierarchical display arrangement such as a file directory. However, in computer systems with small display screens, including personal digital assistants (PDAs) and portable computers (hereinafter collectively termed “mobile devices”) hierarchical displays may be impractical in view of the limited display space. For example, tasks such as browsing or searching for a specific item in a hierarchical display may be problematic and inconvenient when using a mobile device, as the user likely cannot view all the results without considerable scrolling and navigating.
Typically, mobile devices have a number of software applications to inform users of the state changes in a timely and dependable fashion. Some examples include notifying the user of missed telephone calls and voicemails, the status and number of electronic mail messages and short messages that have been received, and the progress of web downloads that are in progress or have been completed.
Generally, each desired software application has its own notification mechanism for the user. A notification mechanism for applications, if not handled in a consistent manner, can be confusing to the user, resulting in information residing in the mobile device that is un-interpretable or un-actionable by the user. Information that is not aggregated for presentation consistently, can cause the user to miss important notices and can cause frustration and anxiety, as well as concern that the mechanism is not reliable.
The fact that many applications require the full screen may result in the user having to navigate multiple locations for notifications and alerts. For example, some applications will notify users via the status bar, while other applications will notify users via locations to which the user must navigate, home screen, idle screen, secondary display, etc.
Therefore, a need exists for integrating user notifications and alerts from multiple applications. Additionally, there is a need to generally aggregate notifications and alerts so that the notifications and alerts are presented effectively to the user. Furthermore, a need exists to aggregate notifications and alerts so that the user can easily look for status changes in different applications, as in a single and consistent location of the mobile device. Responding to these needs and providing other advantages may be obtained by various embodiments of the present invention.